Creation over consumption

For the last decade I’ve been a consumer. Ever since I got my first smartphone.

Sadly, I think this is the case for most people. We live in an age of mass consumerism.

The economy is built on consumption. The more is consumed, the more is produced, and the more money goes around.

In many ways this is great. From the comfort of my home I can now order a hiking bag from the US, a handmade camera strap from Poland and a USB-C cable from China. Brilliant.

But consumerism goes layers deeper.

Chronically stimulated

It’s now easier than ever to access entertainment: YouTube, Netflix, Instagram, you name it. And there is more content than ever.

So much so that I can’t remember that last time I was bored. Not the last time I did something boring, but last time I was bored and had nothing to do.

Before I have the chance to be bored, I’m on YouTube, Netflix or Instagram looking at something or listening to music.

The last few weeks I’ve been trying to eat without watching or listening to anything. It seems like such an easy task but it has proven incredibly hard. This is very concerning. I can’t even sit and eat in silence??

Blaise Pascal said it well, all of humanity's problems stem from our inability to sit quietly in a room alone.

Junk entertainment

I’ve found that a lot of my digital consumption is done under the guise of usefulness. But that is just another way to make me feel better about myself.

I watch YouTube to “learn". I scroll Instagram to get “inspired”. I watch Netflix to, well ok I have nothing there, that’s just pure entertainment.

And just like there is junk food, there is a lot of junk entertainment.

But most of my YouTube watching and all of my Instagram scrolling is pure passive entertainment. It’s just noise that stimulates part of my brain. Most of the time I forget what I saw by the time I’ve moved on to the next video.

So in the end I’ve just spent a bunch of time doing nothing. In the end I feel bad about it because I know deep down that’s not how I want to spend my time.

But then I think to myself, “Hey, you needed it. You worked so hard you deserve to relax”. Really? Then why not do something creative like drawing, writing, designing or learning Dutch or reading.

So that is what I’ll do.

Commitment to myself

Just like I'm cutting out junk food and processed food from my life, I want to cut out junk entertainment.

To that end, I commit to doing my utmost to be a creator instead of a consumer.

It’s part of my identity.

But without actions to back this up, these are just empty words.

So this is what I have done:

• Logged out of Netflix

• Deleted all social media apps except WhatsApp from my phone

• Hidden YouTube home screen videos using SocialFocus

And what I will try to do:

• When eating, focus on eating. No entertainment.

• In public transport, either read on Kindle or learn Dutch.

• Have a fully offline evening wind-down period. Journal and read.

• When relaxing, don’t make digital consumption the default.

Replace:

• Checking social media (compulsively)

• Watching entertainment videos, shows, and movies (unintentionally)

• Listening to music (as a compulsive means to escape boredom)

With:

• Building websites

• Creative explorations

• Learnings new skills

• Reading a book

• Writing

• Journalling

• Taking photos